Now Commenting On:

Showalter says his contract with O's is not an issue

Showalter says his contract with O's is not an issue

10/12/12: Buck Showalter reflects after losing the ALDS to the Yankees and the importance of Adam Jones and Matt Wieters to the team in 2012

By Brittany Ghiroli
/
MLB.com |

BALTIMORE -- Orioles manager Buck Showalter said his contract status is a "non-issue" and he praised managing partner Peter Angelos Saturday morning for making the commitment to hire him in-season in 2010 in the first place.

"He committed and the organization committed to me long before they had to," said Showalter, a strong candidate for American League Manager of the Year, who is signed through 2013. "They had a great deal of faith in me, beyond a week. So that's a non-issue for me. I'm committed, I've fallen in love with this city and we will see what happens. That would be an honor. You take every job with the idea that it's going to be your last one. But to me that's a non-issue to me, in any form or fashion."

Angelos, speaking after the Orioles' season-ending loss in New York Friday night, said a contract extension hasn't been discussed, but if Showalter wants to stay, "nobody's more interested in keeping him than I am."

"And certainly I speak for everyone in the organization," Angelos said of Showalter, who has had a heavy hand in orchestrating the Orioles' turnaround from last place to the AL Division Series. "They had Buck as the manager and Dan Duquette as the GM. You certainly couldn't ask for a better, better combination."

Showalter's clubs have historically improved in his second full season and the 2012 Orioles fit that mold better than anyone could have expected, going 93-69 a year removed from a 69-93 record. The O's fell one win shy of advancing to the AL Championship Series. Showalter, who was at Camden Yards along with Duquette, met with the media on Saturday and said he planned on sticking around the Baltimore area for a little while. He will undergo right knee surgery on Wednesday.

"I just want to throw BP and hit fungos and play golf," he said. "In that order, too."